563 related texts · 17 related myths · Page 5 of 12
Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel, quoting Rabbi Yehoshua, said something that should stop us: since the destruction of the Temple, not a single day has passed without a curse (Sotah 48a). ...
Aharon strikes the dust and every grain of it becomes a biting insect. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Exodus 8:13) is emphatic: all the dust of the earth was changed to become insects,...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to Nebuchadnezzar and Creation of Shinar. Our journey starts with (Genesis 10:10): “The beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erekh, and Akad, and Kalne, in...
In Chapter 36, we get a glimpse into the stark consequences awaiting those who intentionally harm their brothers. It’s heavy stuff. The text minces no words. It speaks of those "ap...
Book of Judith turns to Achior and the Dreamer. He begins by painting a picture of hardship. Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, "rose up against them." It wasn't a fair fight. He "dealt s...
Our story begins with Tobi. He’s in exile in Nineveh, in Assyria. And right away, he’s calling out to God: “Remember me, my God, for good.” He’s not just asking for a favor; he’s r...
Second Maccabees gives us a tantalizing glimpse into just such a mystery, a legend swirling around the prophet Jeremiah. Now, The familiar version gives us Jeremiah. The weeping pr...
The Book of Jasher, an ancient text referenced in the Bible itself (Joshua 10:13 and (2 Samuel 1:1)8), offers some pretty fascinating, and sometimes unsettling, glimpses.. The chap...
Sometimes, looking to other texts can give us a fuller picture. This passage from the Book of Jasher. It begins with a rumble of war. Chedorlaomer, king of Elam, rallies his allies...
A fascinating chapter from the Book of Jasher, a non-canonical Jewish text that elaborates on stories from the Hebrew Bible. Specifically, The chapter opens with the death of Saul,...
The ancient Israelites certainly did! And this chapter of the Book of Jasher throws us right into the middle of their long, winding journey. Remember Korah's rebellion? The Book of...
When Pharaoh sought counsel on what to do about the growing Israelite population, he summoned three men: Reuel the Midianite, Job, and Balaam of Petor. Their answers determined the...
Before the tenth plague struck, God executed judgment on every idol in Egypt. Stone gods shattered into fragments. Wooden gods rotted to dust. Idols of silver, brass, iron, and lea...
Before the third day, the earth was a watery expanse. Then, God commanded, "Let the waters be gathered together," and suddenly, mountains and hills burst forth, creating basins for...
We all face temptations, big and small. But It's a story of desire, power, and ultimately, unwavering faith. In Legends of the Jews, compiled by Rabbi Louis Ginzberg, Zuleika didn'...
In Legends of the Jews, a couple of years after Joseph's death, Reuben fell ill, sensing his time was near. He gathered his sons, grandsons, and brothers, ready to share his hard-e...
It’s a powerful emotion, one that can lead us down paths we never thought we’d tread. The Torah, our sacred text, is full of stories that explore these complex human emotions, and ...
Legends of the Jews (Ginzberg) turns to The King Of Ethiopia. It sounds wild, doesn't it? According to Ginzberg's Legends of the Jews, the Ethiopians, in desperate need of a leader...
Moses encountered seven maidens at a well. One of them, Zipporah, caught his eye with her modesty. He proposed marriage, but Zipporah wasn't immediately swept off her feet. She tol...
The Bible tells us about the Israelites' enslavement in Egypt, but some of the most chilling details come from other sources, like Legends of the Jews by Rabbi Louis Ginzberg. Ginz...
Legends of the Jews (Ginzberg) turns to Moses Declines The Mission. The familiar story is this: Moses encounters the burning bush. But there's so much more to it than just a fiery ...
A reader can see them as just random acts of divine power, but Jewish tradition teaches us there’s so much more going on. It's not just about punishment, it's about midah k'neged m...
The familiar version gives us the big picture: plagues, Moses, Pharaoh, the Red Sea. But what about the details, the little-known corners of the narrative? to one of the most drama...
The Torah tells us that Pharaoh rose in the night, after the plague of the firstborn. But the Legends of the Jews, drawing on various midrashic (rabbinic interpretive commentary) s...
Plagues, parting of the Red Sea, freedom! But the details…they’re wild. The scene: the Egyptians, fresh from the devastation of the tenth plague, practically shoving the Israelites...
The Torah portion of Shmot – Exodus – introduces us to Moses, arguably the greatest prophet in Judaism. But even before the burning bush, before the plagues, before the parting of ...
It wasn't all smooth sailing, that's for sure. In fact, according to some fascinating threads in Jewish tradition, there was a bit of a rebellion right at the start. the separation...
Jewish tradition, particularly the wealth of stories that amplify the terse narratives of the Torah, offers some pretty compelling answers. to the consequences of that fateful bite...
That’s where we find Pharaoh in the Joseph story. For two long years, Pharaoh was plagued by recurring dreams. Night after night, they visited him, only to vanish with the morning ...
It led to one of the most dramatic moments in the Joseph story. Pharaoh, plagued by these intense dreams, had already consulted the wise men of Egypt. But their interpretations jus...
The familiar story is this: Joseph, sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, ends up in Egypt. He rises through the ranks, but then gets thrown in jail after being falsely accuse...
The stakes? Nothing less than the fate of Egypt, and the freedom of his own people. In Legends of the Jews, the situation had reached a fever pitch. Egypt was reeling from the plag...
It turns out, even back in biblical Egypt, there were struggles for power and privilege, and Joseph, yes, that Joseph from the coat of many colors, was right in the middle of it al...
Legends of the Jews turns to Reuben Lost Three Crowns for One Rash Act. Jacob, on his deathbed, addresses Reuben. "Reuben, thou art my first-born, my might, and the beginning of my...
Prophecies and predictions have always held a certain allure, a glimpse behind the curtain of time. And in Jewish tradition, we have plenty of them. This particular prophecy, found...
The familiar story centers on Moses, the plagues, and the Exodus. But what seeds of mistrust were sown long before the mitzrayim, the Egyptians, enslaved the Israelites? The Ginzbe...
The familiar version gives us the big picture – the enslavement, the plagues, the Exodus. But what about the countless untold stories of courage, faith, and divine intervention tha...
The familiar version gives us the big picture: slavery, plagues, the parting of the Red Sea. But what about the individual choices, the moral dilemmas, the moments of despair and r...
That righteous anger, that impulse to act – it's a deeply human experience, and it’s one that Moses himself knew well. The story goes that one day, long after he'd left the shelter...
Legends of the Jews turns to Moses Killed an Egyptian Who Had Assaulted a Hebrew Man's Wife. Just at that moment, Shelomith's husband, Dathan, returned home. The Egyptian, knowing ...
Legends of the Jews turns to Ethiopia — Giving of the Torah. One such tale, found in Ginzberg’s Legends of the Jews, tells of Moses becoming a king in Ethiopia. In legend, word rea...
Not just inconvenienced, but utterly, hopelessly stuck. Thrown into a pit, forgotten, left to rot. That's what happened to Moses, according to some fascinating threads in the tradi...
The legends tell us that God, in His infinite wisdom, gave Moses a glimpse into the years to come, specifically concerning his own life and fate. This wasn't a simple prophecy, but...
Our tradition is full of stories about people confronting the divine, sometimes even arguing with God! And those moments, those messy, human moments, often reveal profound truths. ...
It’s a cosmic battle, a divine showdown. This king is the Lord. In Legends of the Jews, Ginzberg's masterful compilation of rabbinic lore, God operates a bit like an earthly sovere...
It wasn't just random suffering; each plague, according to our sages, mirrored the cruelty the Egyptians inflicted upon the Israelites. It's a concept called middah k'neged middah,...
Some folks sneak around, waiting for the perfect moment to pounce. Others? They give you a heads-up, a warning shot across the bow. That difference, Before each plague struck, Mose...
It's about a clash of wills, a battle of divine power, and ultimately, liberation. But have you ever stopped to consider the why behind how those plagues unfolded? to the very firs...
